HARTFORD
– With
drought conditions persisting and too little precipitation forecast for the foreseeable
future, Connecticut Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Raul Pino
today signed an order declaring a temporary 30-day public water supply
emergency for four Fairfield County towns served by Aquarion Water Company
(AWC): Greenwich, Stamford, Darien and
New Canaan. Aquarion’s water issues are
also affecting several towns in nearby Westchester County, NY, who are also
served by AWC: Rye, Ryebrook and Port Chester. DPH is working closely with the New York
State Health Department and the Westchester County Health Department to ensure
an adequate water supply for all seven towns.

The rarely used declaration was
requested by AWC to allow the company to divert water from other sources of
supply to the four Connecticut towns which are facing a substantial depletion
of their public water supply as a result of ongoing drought conditions. DPH, in consultation with the Department of
Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the Public Utility Regulatory
Authority (PURA), determined that the declaration was necessary to prevent
further depletion of the water supply. To
view the Commissioner’s Declaration and Order, please click here.

“This is not a step that the
Department of Public Health takes lightly or frequently, but it is clear that
despite water conservation efforts taken by Aquarion and its customers,
diversion of water from other areas in Aquarion’s water supply in addition to
continued mandatory water conservation measures is necessary to avert a much
larger water crisis in these towns,” said Commissioner Pino. “Ensuring an adequate supply of safe drinking
water remains our number one priority for protecting public health, and we will
be monitoring the Aquarion situation very closely through a series of mandatory
weekly reports and enhanced water quality testing by Aquarion.”

“While this declaration deals
specifically with these four towns and neighboring towns in New York, the
entire state remains in a drought advisory, and I encourage all Connecticut
residents to conserve water during this prolonged period of dry weather,” added
Commissioner Pino.

The DPH order places several
conditions that AWC must meet for the duration of the public water supply
emergency. Those conditions include: prohibiting
AWC adding new customers without prior approval by DPH; continuing mandatory
outdoor watering bans for the CT and NY towns; requiring AWC to provide weekly
public notifications on water supplies for the affected towns; requiring AWC to
perform a water audit of its top 20 largest water users in the affected towns
and assist users identifying ways to reduce usage; and providing several weekly
reports to DPH, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP)
and local health departments on water supply measurements, effectiveness of conservation
practices, communications with town and local health officials in both the CT
and NY-affected towns, results of water quality monitoring, and information on
daily water diversion totals.

The order will remain in effect for
30 days, but AWC can apply for additional 30 day extensions, up to a maximum of
150 days.